In the current era of gadget rivalries where every launched gadget has a cutthroat competition with several others, we have an intense rat race among the number of smart phones available. With the androids, and iPhones and the number of brands available, we are spoilt for choice. Here is a detailed review of two of the leading smart phones available in the market today.
Both Apple’s and Google’s flagship smart phones are officially out in the market. The iPhone 5s is Apple’s flagship phone for 2013, and the Nexus 5 is Google’s own Android phone for the year.
Look wise
The Nexus 5 comes with a 5-inch display. It also has a much higher pixel density than many other phones available these days, at 440 pixels per inch it also beats the iPhone 5s that offers a 4-inch screen and 326 pixels per inch.
The front panel is all glass, with only a tiny circular cutout for the earpiece and a hidden notification light on the front. Gorilla Glass 3 covering is used for the display. There’s a 3.5mm headphone port on the top. The volume rocker and the wake keys are ceramic, and are located on opposite sides of the phone.
Worth mentioning is the back of the smartphone, which has a bold Nexus branding, and an oversized surround covering the camera lens. This definitely adds that extra character to the phone (according to the makers). The rear is made of a soft-touch material and grips well. Unlike many phones, it doesn’t feel cheap.
To look at, the Nexus 5, in particular the black model, is classy and understated. It comes in two colors – the classy black and the pristine white.
The iPhone 5 was a somewhat subtle but completely thorough redesign of the iPhone, from screen size to headphone placement. It introduced an aluminum frame, a thinner and lighter build, and comes in two colors. The 5S is a carbon copy, with some new color variations. You can get last year’s white/silver color, or gray, which matches black glass and a darker gray anodized aluminum. And of course, there’s gold (or more a champagne), paired with white glass on the back and front. The only major differences from the iPhone 5 are
1. The Home button looks a little different and doesn’t have a square on it anymore. This is because it’s now a biometric fingerprint reader as well as a button.
2. The rear camera has a different microphone hole and an extra LED flash to the right of it.
That’s it, seriously! (Though it does come in gold!)
The Processor and RAM
Google compels us to admit that the Nexus 5 is a complete package. It sports a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.3GHz with 2GB of RAM, while the iPhone 5s comes with a dual-core Apple A7 processor clocked at 1.3GHz with only 1GB of RAM.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the iPhone 5s is a snail! In fact, the iPhone 5s can be just as fast thanks to how well it handles iOS 7 processes. The iPhone 5s may outperform many of the smart phones thanks to its innovative 64-bit processor – the first such chip to ever grace a phone.
But if you’re someone who loves to have the fastest phone on the market then Nexus 5 is the clear winner hands down.
The OS
Nexus comes with Android 4.4 aka KitKat Operating System. It is the latest OS from Google. This OS is very versatile and can be used on almost all the Smart phones with minimal requirements. Nexus is the first smart phone to come pre-loaded with KitKat.
The Apple iPhone 5s runs the latest iOS7 which features a new interface which has been made to support the A7 chip’s 64-bit architecture, the new iSight camera and the fingerprint sensor.
Battery life
Battery life is one of those things that no one is ever happy with. With that said, you might be pleased to know that the battery life on both the Nexus 5 and the iPhone 5s are pretty decent. According to Apple, you’ll be able to get 10 hours worth of LTE surfing time, while Google says that the Nexus 5 will last seven hours on LTE. Of course, the mileage will vary, and each user will have their own experiences as far battery life goes.
The Camera
The camera is one of those features that many users are picky about. A lot of people want a phone that can replace their 
traditional cameras, and according to many users the iPhone 5s can do exactly that.
On the other hand the Nexus does not give a top notch camera experience. Google and LG for the Nexus 5 have kept the 8-megapixel count, but added in optical image stabilization and HDR+ to give it a little more sheen. Sadly its one of the least impressive aspects of the phone (according to many online reviews)
Apple boasted a lot about its new iSight camera on the iPhone5s but according to many online reviews it doesn’t outperform the iPhone 5 by much (which is, admittedly, one of the best smartphone cameras). Both phones do share an 8-megapixel design, though Apple says the pixels on its newest iPhone sensor are bigger and therefore capture more light. The front camera shoots 1.2 mega pixels . Thanks to the extra-yellow LED flash, it might make the shots look a little warmer.
Cost
Having said all of the above lets get down to zeroing in on the affordability. Nexus 5 is priced at Rs. 29,400 for its 16 and 32 GB model in India whereas Apple has priced the iPhone 5S at Rs.53,500, Rs.62,500 and Rs.71,500 for the 16, 32 and 64GB models respectively. Do I need to mention the cost difference? All I can say is you can get 2 KitKats for the price of 1 Apple! This is a large difference indeed.
The Good
Nexus 5
- Solid build quality
- Ultra-competitive price
- Gorgeous screen
- Android 4.4 is the best version yet
iPhone 5S
- Fantastic design, build quality
- First ever 64-bit processor
- Fingerprint sensor .
- iOS 7 has fresh look and features
The Nexus 5 and the iPhone 5s are both the best phones available in market this season. So go ahead and buy for yourself either of these smartphones as they are two of the most sought after phones this season.
- Zeenat